What follows is a Christian prayer, but we invite you to speak the words and make it your own.

Father God,

We come to you to seek your wisdom and guidance for the work ahead.

We are thankful that Edmonton is a wonderful city, known for its’ warmth and compassion, despite a cold and sometimes hostile climate. We are thankful for the energy and commitment of her leadership and her citizens. And we are thankful that we are together able to call this place home.

Lord God, life together is rarely easy. And despite our general warmth as a community, we acknowledge the presence of many walls that divide us.

Fear of difference. Fear of change. Fear of the other. Fear of the future.

Anger at those who have hurt us. Anger at changes we do not welcome. Anger at even our own loneliness, weariness, and sadness.

Father God, we know the future is in your hands, and yet we know you also call us to value wisdom, to live with generosity and compassion and to both do and seek justice. Today, we ask for your help with these things.

We pray for wisdom for those serving as our leaders in City Council and in both our Legislature and Parliament; as they craft policy and try to steer the narrow path to a healthy, compassionate and strong community of citizens. Give them clarity and insight in both defending the vulnerable, and encouraging the powerful in a direction that will see all flourish.

We pray for a spirit of generosity and sacrifice to fill the sails of community, and to propel our efforts to provide for those most in need of love and care. That efforts will not fall flat because we all say, ‘someone else will pay for it.’

And we pray you will strengthen your minds, hearts and hands to both do and seek justice. Make us good listeners to the cares and concerns of everyone involved. Give us clarity of sight and judgment as to what is good and right. And help us in every case to take the side of healthy, compassionate and caring community; where all are welcomed, are cared for, and are given space to live, work, play, heal, and contribute to our common good.

May your kingdom come, on earth as it is in heaven,

In the mighty name of Jesus. Savior, Teacher, Redeemer, King, and Friend.

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Here’s how this story started: Recognizing growing needs and struggles experienced by their neighbours in West Edmonton, several Christian churches (large and small) met together with the City of Edmonton to consider what they might collectively do to help out.

From that first meeting, West Edmonton Interfaith coalition formed, starting in 2005; gearing up to address social issues locally.

The coalition met with Murray Soroka, who was working with a few others doing some street work in the community. Together, they agreed that a drop-in/resource centre was needed. So they went and did it! A society was formed, a lease was signed, volunteers donated time, money and expertise in renovating and preparing the space (including Plumbing, drywall, finishing carpentry, painting…), and they opened in June of 2006 on Stony Plain road. Their starting goal was simple: “Building community through relationships.” They made a place where vulnerable community members could come and build relationships with the faith community.

At the beginning, Soroka says, “we were heavy on relationships, but light on everything else.” But they provided laundry, showers, shopping cart storage (a safe place to put your stuff during meetings or appointments), and lots of meals.

A year in, they started helping people experiencing homelessness find housing. In 2007, they helped house 100 people across West Edmonton. They helped provide a damage deposit, and a utility deposit and helped people get settled. Some of these people needed just that little bit of help, and are still housed today from that initial work!

In 2008, they ran two pilot projects exploring Housing First, a new strategy to start by housing and then providing supports to people. Then in 2009, Housing First took off, and they have been involved ever since. Through their own efforts and housing first, have housed over 1100 people.

In 2010, they secured funding to build Canora place; an affordable housing complex with 24-7 on-site support. For help with more difficult issues like mental health and addictions, residents are connected with outside agencies and services. Ongoing donations help keep Canora a safe and affordable home.

In 2011, they started a social enterprise, employing vulnerable populations paying a living wage, providing job training and experience; part of their employment program. Today, they operate five for-profit businesses that pay a living wage (around $17/hr). The hope is that these businesses may some day provide wealth for the organization to help sustain the work they do. Through these businesses, they provide for forty full-time jobs and put 1.5 million in wages back into the community!

Food security is also one of their five pillars. They are a founding member of Food4Good, that helped start over forty community gardens. They host Collective kitchens, with opportunity for food education and awareness. Food4Good supports pop-up markets, selling groceries up to seventy percent below market.

In 2016, JPWC made inroads into Wellness Education with the goal to ‘build resiliency into the lives of community members through education.’ The Edmonton Public Library provides basic computer training. An Art teacher produces art therapy. Financial institutions come in to provide financial literacy. They also have a mental health worker, an addictions counselor, grief counseling, and assistance with tax returns (right until the end of October); which is a critical way to lift people out of poverty.

In September 21, 2017, they officially opened the Jasper Place Wellness Centre (celebration picture below), a Medical Centre where they provide primary care to vulnerable populations. Currently, they have two doctors on staff, and they hope to eventually be a full-time clinic with hours from 9am-9pm, six days a week with five to seven doctors.

Today, JPWC serves around 800 people every year in West Edmonton. Murray Soroka says it matters that “we are outside of the core. Vulnerable people can reside in all parts of our great city. We need to have supports where the people are.”

Starting with a coalition of caring communities that saw the need and wanted to respond; JPWC has become an incredible hub for help. They see themselves as a community development organization, and a wellness centre; a place where people can find help with the basic things, get over some big hurtles, and become contributing members in their local community!

Who are the faith communities supporting Jasper Place with time, money, volunteers, hospitality and genuine care? They are many! Beulah Alliance, West Edmonton Christian Assembly, Hosanna Lutheran, Trinity United, West End Christian Reformed, Covenant Christian Reformed, Annunciation Catholic, West Meadows Baptist, Jasper Place Baptist, Gospel Centre, and many more.

Other partners: Edmonton Public Library, City of Edmonton, Edmonton West Primary Care Network, Parent Link, Bissell Centre, and Homeward Trust

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Here in Edmonton, numerous Islamic communities work together to respond to the needs experienced within the Muslim community and beyond. How do they do that? IFSSA!

As with so many non-profit ventures, it all started when a few members of a community got together to help meet a need. At the beginning that need became obvious as low-income Muslim families struggled to gain access to healthy and halal food. So an uncle in the community opened up his basement and they began a food pantry and hampers to help people out. And of course, it grew from there. Starting in the early nineties in a basement, today they have three different facilities around Edmonton and 22 paid staff.

For the last several years, IFSSA has had three main areas of work.

Meeting essential needs like food and clothing. Last year, the Muslim community through IFSSA assisted more than 7000 families and distributed more than 640,000 pounds of food.

Emergency Rent help and financial counseling. Last year, IFSSA was able to provide more than $100,000 in emergency rent help to families in danger of losing their home. This assistance can prevent a family from experiencing a deeper crisis, and it provides the opportunity for IFSSA workers to help a family consider how they might improve their financial situation.

Fostering Healthy Families. “The Fostering Healthy Families program provides direct support services to family members and individuals affected by family violence in the immigrant community. IFSSA is committed to helping keep families together and free from abuse. Also to guide those that have been affected by violence in the family to heal, regain control and to feel safe in having a place to come to for help. A Muslim female provisional psychologist provides counselling services in the areas of trauma, self-esteem, marital discord, family mediation, depression and healthy relationships. The services are offered in a sensitive and knowledgeable manner with an understanding of cultural and Islamic aspects.” (http://www.ifssa.ca/services)

Alongside these three main areas, IFSSA also works with partners like the Edmonton Mennonite Centre for Newcomers and Catholic Social Services to help new immigrants to Canada find their feet and integrate well in Canadian Society. They have been working with youth for many years through a program they call The Green Room; which seeks to create an “open space for youth to foster meaningful connections, grow, and serve the community, rooted in Islam and relevant to time and place.”

In the last few years, IFSSA has also identified affordable housing for large families as an area of high need, and has begun a partnership with Right at Home Housing Society to help create homes for low-income families. They hope to see some new units built in the next few years.

What fuels the heart of a ministry like IFSSA?The Islamic teaching of Zakat, one of the five pillars. It reminds all Muslims of their responsibility to care for their neighbours. Muslims from various communities see supporting the work of IFSSA as a way to obey this core teaching of their faith.

They are also fueled by a sense of identity grounded in the Quran. Omar Yaqub, chair of IFSSA’s board describes their brand identity as embodied by the phrase “Created to Serve.” He says, “It is a proper representation of our principles, a reminder of God’s verse within the Quran (3:110), “You are the best of the nations raised up for (the benefit of) men.” The phrase speaks to many dimensions. IFSSA is here to serve people both directly, and secondly, we as people, volunteers or staff with IFSSA were created with the purpose to serve others. Serving others is spoken of within the Quran as medicine, and it speaks to the need within; an inner void that is filled through helping others.”

Here’s a glimpse into some of the work they do: Amina’s story!

Amina* approached IFSSA in distress after having experienced physical, emotional and financial abuse from her husband. She was in need of intense emotional support, as well as assistance in understanding the lasting effects the trauma has had on her physical and mental health. She was assigned an outreach worker who began to meet with her regularly to begin the healing process. Amina received professional counselling and was also directed to additional social supports, such as legal assistance. After three years of ongoing support from IFSSA, Amina has now taken ownership of her life.

She is still reliant on social assistance but has found it insufficient for her and her children. After being denied eight times for Assured Income for the Severely Handicapped (AISH) status, our staff intervened on her behalf through her local Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA). After this, she was finally approved on her ninth attempt!

Through it all, Amina’s resilience, patience, and courage has been remarkable to everyone who has worked with her.

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Edmonton is increasingly becoming a destination city for immigrants entering Canada. In 2011, 20.5% of the population in Edmonton were immigrants. Based off a recently published report by Statistics Canada, that number is estimated to rise to 31.7% by 2036. As a result, efficient and effective integration of incoming immigrants and refugees is a crucial priority for Edmonton. Luckily, there are a number of organizations, private and public, whose mission is to help newcomers to Edmonton find their place in their new home.

Alberta and City of Edmonton Services
Both the City and the Provincial governments host centres specifically catered towards orienting and providing information services for newcomers to Edmonton. The Citizen and New Arrival Information Centre, located at City hall, offers information on and assistance in accessing the City’s services in over 150 languages. Simultaneously, the province runs 4 separate Alberta Supports centres across the city. Similar to the New Arrival Information Centre, Alberta Supports connect newcomers with essential services ranging from the International Qualifications Assessment to Alberta’s Child and Health Care services.

Edmonton Immigrant Services Association
For over 30 years, the Edmonton Immigrant Services Association (EISA) has been providing a variety of programs for newcomers to Edmonton. These include their “English as Another Language” classes, the In-School Settlement Services program, the New Neighbors program, and general translation and interpretation services. The EISA places a focus on helping newcomers access existing services and learn about Canadian customs and expectations. Their service helps immigrants with everything from finding and applying to jobs, to obtaining a driver’s license, to just finding some new people to interact and make friends with.

Catholic Social Services
Catholic Social Services (CSS) is the pre-eminent Catholic charity in Edmonton and works to provide a number of services for immigrants in the city. Their primary services focus on settlement and orientation, helping newcomers understand the process of acquiring citizenship, employment, and generally how to integrate with their new communities. CSS also runs the Language Assessment, Referral & Counselling Centre, which runs the officially recognized Language Instruction for Newcomers to Canada (LINC) and Language and Vocational Assessment (LVA) programs.

ASSIST Community Services Centre
ASSIST is another long-running immigrant support centre, having operated in Edmonton for 40 years. Having expanded from its roots in the Chinese community, ASSIST now provides orientation, legal and mental health counselling, aid with employment, and LINC classes. ASSIST is remarkable for providing services in 12 languages: Arabic, English, German, Gujarati, Hindi, Korean, Mandarin, Kakwa, Punjabi, Russian, Tagalog and Urdu.

Changing Together: A Centre for Immigrant Women
The Changing Together agency is specifically focused on helping immigrant women. They provide a variety of self-improvement services, including ESL classes, basic computer courses, employment counselling and support, and family support services. Edmonton has the dubious honor of having the third highest unemployment rate for women in Canada, with a correspondingly large gap between women and men’s unemployment rates (8.6% to 5.9%) and average wage (women make $0.59 for every dollar made by men).

Multicultural Health Brokers Co-op and the Multicultural Family Resource Society
These two sister groups focus on bringing multicultural communities together to solve the isolation and lack of support in immigrant communities. Multicultural Health Brokers Co-op began as a response to research indicating immigrant mothers were having difficulty with pre-natal healthcare. The organization trained women in those communities as “brokers” to provide pre-natal health care education in the languages and formats amenable to immigrant mothers. Since then the organization has grown to address senior and youth health concerns, and to generally provide a holistic health service for Edmonton communities. The Multicultural Family Resource Society was built on a similar foundation, but targeted at providing social programs and discussions for families from different cultures. They run programs and consultation groups focusing on multicultural parents, immigrant youth, and on English classes that specifically involve youth in the classroom.

By Maxwell Jenkins, Research Support Assistant
Edmonton Social Planning Council

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Many faith communities wonder how they might go deeper in relationship, and in helping address needs in their local neighbourhood. Often they will have their own building, and wonder what might be possible if they could just open their doors a little wider.

MIllbourne Community Life Centre, supported by the South Edmonton Alliance Church provides some great food for thought on this front. They are a faith community who pursued the community centre model of engagement.

Millbourne Community Life Centre is a busy place!

Close to twenty local partners collaborate with the centre to provide a dizzying array of programming and opportunities in service to both the immediate and larger community in Millwoods. The local community they minister to is very diverse, and is home to people from a vast range of faiths and cultures, such as, Punjabi, Urdu, Latino, Chinese, Filipino, Hindi, and Arabic. The socio-economic needs of the surrounding community are also significant, with over 1,400 households that fall within the lowest income bracket, as well as 2,500 subsidized housing units within the eleven communities that make up Millwoods.

Working to respond to those needs, the Millbourne Community Life Centre has become a hot spot in the local community, with many partners coming together to provide: immigration support services, a youth ministry centre, We-can food baskets, conversational cafes to aid in learning conversational English, Pre-natal classes, a food pantry and food bank outlet, a refugee medical clinic, a Community mother’s drop-in, a summer community sports camp, cultural fluency seminars, long distance seminary courses in Cantonese, and cross-cultural internships with the University of Hong Kong.

It is also home to three church communities: City South Church (Pentecostal) – 10am-12pm on Sundays, The Multicultural Alliance Church – starting at 12:15pm, and the Light of Life Filipino church, worshipping at 4pm.

It is open seven days a week, and is a hub for all kinds of help and services embedded in the local community.

So how did this happen?

Ten years ago, the large brick building at 2101 Millbourne Road was home to the Millbourne Alliance Church. The congregation had met together for over fifty years, and done much good work together, but they had become an ageing and dwindling congregation. It was becoming clear the time was upon them to close their doors.

Local Alliance Churches began meeting to consider what to do with the building. After a time, South Edmonton Alliance Church stepped up to sponsor the building as a community outreach, and in 2011 opened it as a community centre for the very diverse neighbourhood. From the start, they elected to treat any potential organizations as partners, rather than renters. They decided all their partners would have a seat at the table, and that they would meet regularly. Together with new partners, they could help to address challenges faced by people in the community.

As the Centre found its’ feet, those partners gradually came to the table. One of their anchor partners is Youth Unlimited, who run a youth ministry centre out of the basement. A few years ago, as a partner they renovated the space as a venue for concerts and other types of programming for their youth, many of whom are from immigrant families and learning together under their Christian mentors, how to be Canadian, and caring citizens in their new home.

There were certainly some difficult transitional moments. One of those was the decision to take down the large cross that was on the outside of the building. There were strong feelings on both sides of the decision. The purpose for doing so, was to facilitate the coming and going for Muslims and other groups who could access ministries in their building. Those serving today in the MCLC facility are very mindful and deeply appreciative of the tremendous work and sacrifice of those from the original church family, Millbourne Alliance Church!

One significant shift that happened was in how they saw the building. Tim Cook, the director at MCLC describes this change as moving from a posture of “protecting our stuff,” to “let’s use this building together.” That posture has made so much possible, with partners willing to invest in upgrades and some renovations.

Certainly, not everything is simple. The centre is self-sustaining in operating costs, but currently the building needs some larger repairs, including a new roof and parking lot, and investments to make the upstairs accessible. Finding the money and resources to effect those major repairs is still in the works, but these are normal challenges. It is likely solutions to this will be generated out of the continuing fruit of the relationships and partnerships built. Perhaps they will be able to tell that story too in the days to come.

Where is the heart that drives a community ministry like Millbourne community Life Centre?
That heart is expressed well in their vision statement: “Millbourne Community Life Centre is a place where all, regardless of ethnic or economic background can come to receive an expression of God’s love and find hope that comes through knowing the gift of life that God offers through His Son, Jesus Christ.”

This vision fuels a spirit of warmth and welcome that permeates the place. There is no pressure employed, or any strings attached to any of the help. But sometimes prayers are shared, and if anyone wants to understand the heart that drives their hospitality, there are several partners there to walk with them on that journey.

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“I was hungry and you gave me something to eat… I was in prison and you came to visit me … I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.” – Jesus (Matthew 25:36, 40)

Reflection
When Jesus identifies himself with the person who is hungry, weak, the prisoner, or the stranger, he challenges his followers to always see another person’s potential, value, and humanity, and to respond in tenacious faith to what God may do in the life of their neighbour. Yesterday and today, that belief drives Christians to invest themselves in the lives of their neighbours, even in prison.

On Sunday nights from 6:00-7:30,

A team of women and (even a few men) from Beulah Alliance Church and West Edmonton Christian Assembly go to visit with women in a prison on the west end, here in Edmonton. About thirty-five women from the prison come out to join them for coffee and snacks, and to experience the Alpha program. They eat together, pray together, share stories, and learn about the Christian Faith. One woman attended the program 3 or 4 times without showing any desire to embrace Christianity. When asked why, she said, ‘Because I feel cared for.’

That honest statement points to the genuine heart of why those doing this ministry do what they do: To support these women in their struggle to heal, to confront some of the darkness and pain they carry, and find answers to who they are so that they may succeed. In these gatherings, caring relationships are formed, some of which are able to carry on after a woman is discharged into the community.

Marilyn Johnson, one of the leaders in the team has observed that it is very good to have men participate in these visits as well, so that the women have an opportunity to have a healthy relationship with a male presence.

Because of the success of the program and the trust earned, mentors in the program have earned escort privileges to take some of the women to church on a Sunday morning. (If a women is from the medium security end, then she would also be escorted by two guards.) But this means so much to the women, to have the opportunity to get out of prison and be welcomed by a church community. They have hard deadlines that do not budge, of course. The women must be back by 10:00 am, sharp! But the efforts of these churches gives them an experience of belonging, which means a lot.

Their efforts have been very well-received by both the women, and by their families, who have expressed profound gratitude; even from a father from Manitoba, who was all in tears.

Prison can be a place of restoration

“I am glad God brought me into prison. If I was still out there, I would probably be dead!” This statement by a woman visiting the program reinforces an observation made by Marilyn others that many of the stories told by the women had a common theme: Wrong place! Wrong time! Wrong friends!

For many of the women, prison can offer them an opportunity; a solid interruption to unhealthy choices, circumstances and relationships. Many of the women are eager to use this opportunity, and having people come into the prison to walk that road with them, is really valuable.

Challenges On the Outside

Much work goes into helping a women succeed on the outside, but the challenges following release are significant. Generally the women will find themselves immersed in the same set of circumstances and troubled relationships that fuelled their wrong choices and bad behaviors. A top indicator for whether a person succeeds or fails on the outside is whether or not they have healthy supportive community. But finding this can be very hard.

The organizers of the program really want to support the women once they are on the outside, but there are major challenges. One simple difficulty is to keep in contact with women once they have left the prison. Their home communities are all over Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba, so many are simply separated by distance. Many are sent to half-way houses, and may not even know where they are headed a week ahead of time.

For the women who stay locally, they may have some success for a while and stay in regular contact. But then they might do something that they are ashamed to admit, and pull back. As well, the team is forced to keep some distance in relationships, and they struggle with whether to open their homes and give out personal information. One reason for that caution is that some of the women can be manipulative. When volunteers begin this work, they take a course on what they are or are not allowed to do; including sharing personal information. Many of those guidelines continue to apply even on the outside.

But within those guidelines, there is much that can be done.

What can we do to provide supportive community to people coming out of prison?

1. Run support groups like celebrate recovery that can provide both support and accountability.

2. Get together socially! Meet for coffee or get food at a restaurant. Go for walks, or get out to have fun together.

3. Provide work opportunities. There are businesses that are willing to work with people coming out of prison, and do much to provide that supportive community environment.

These activities may take some organizing, but this engagement is very meaningful to anyone trying to pull their life back together after prison.

A Success story: A woman in her fifties formed a relationship with the group while she was still in prison. She had killed someone many years ago. Now she has been out for two years and is doing really well. She calls up Marilyn and others from the program to get together, and she is so excited when she gets to be with them.

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Article first published in the Western Catholic Reporter on September 16, 2013
by BOB MCKEON

Last month I attended an afternoon meeting at the Marian Centre in inner city Edmonton. At the end of the meeting, I was invited to join with the Marian Centre staff for the 5:15 pm Mass at St. Benedict’s Chapel at Edmonton’s City Centre Mall.

The walk of only four blocks was a jarring experience of contrasts. Coming out of the alley, we passed by Immigration Hall, a newly-renovated, 41-unit housing complex operated by Hope Mission that provides transitional and long-term housing for formerly homeless men and women making important life transitions. On the next block we passed by the Spady Centre, a community-run street-level detox facility where two peace officers were interrogating a man in the lineup outside of the centre. Just a little bit further, we passed by the main entrance of the EPCOR office tower where crowds of well-dressed people were hurrying out at the end of their workday. A block further, we passed through the lobby of an upscale downtown hotel to gain access to an elevated pedway which led to a side entrance into Edmonton City Centre Mall. Once in the mall we passed by a jewelry store with beautiful expansive displays. One floor up on the escalator, we entered the sacred space of St. Benedict’s Chapel.

HALF A WORLD AWAY
While most of us know there are homeless people in Edmonton, usually they are at a distance from us. That afternoon, the distance was literally only a couple dozen metres on one hand, and yet half a world away on the other.

Two nights later I was far from the inner city at St. Thomas More Church Hall in Riverbend, attending a community meeting debating a proposed 60-unit supportive housing project for men, women and families making the transition from an earlier experience of homelessness to a new situation of stable, affordable apartments.
Here the visible and societal distance between those with and without homes was narrowing rapidly. The hall was crowded. People spoke with great passion and often with anger. Most who spoke were opposed to the proposed housing project.

Many questions were raised about the building site in Terwillegar Towne, the size of the project, availability of support services and the potential risks posed to the local neighbourhood by the new residents.

FEAR, FRUSTRATION
Underlying public conversations like this is a strong sense of fear, frustration and vulnerability. Some in our Catholic parishes regularly cross this societal divide when they give generously of their time and money and encounter those who are hungry, homeless or poor at the Marian Centre or Inner City Pastoral Ministry in inner city Edmonton or in community or church halls in other parts of the archdiocese.

This is often a spiritually and personally transforming experience for those who give of themselves in this way. However, there is a certain intentionality and clear limits and boundaries in these encounters. There are usually clear time expectations, assigned roles and tasks, and experienced mentors. At the end of the encounter, it is possible to leave and go back to our own homes and communities often a safe distance away.

What is most challenging and often creates fear is when this social divide is crossed unexpectedly without pre-set time and space boundaries. Think of encountering a person begging on the sidewalk or a new service agency or social housing complex on our block.

SPIRITUAL GROUNDING
For Christians, one key reference point is our internal spiritual disposition. In our deepest heart of hearts, is our spiritual grounding: one of love, inclusion, hospitality, solidarity and freedom? Jesus in the Gospel stories provides a perfect model for this. Fear and anger can present obstacles for us to be able to respond from the strength of this spiritual foundation.

As we grow in our discipleship journey following Christ ever more closely, we learn to respond more fully from an internal disposition of love. This does not mean we surrender our responsibility to exercise prudence, wisdom and discernment as we face difficult debates on controversial community projects or when we navigate inner city sidewalks. But it does mean that we start from a spiritual grounding of love, solidarity and welcome, especially to those who are vulnerable and on the margins.

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Whether this is you, someone you know, or a neighbour battling in the cold; here are a few key resources to help you get help.

If this is an emergency, call 911!

If you see someone in distress, and you are concerned their life may be threatened in any way, don’t mess around; call 911 Emergency to summon immediate help.

If this is not an emergency, and someone’s life is not visibly threatened, call 211!

This service is able to mobilize many different kinds of responses, including the 24/7 Crisis response teams, which can help someone in a non-emergency situation. The 211 service is also able to connect or refer you to places that will be able to provide help.

If you need more long-term help for yourself or a neighbour and don’t know where to go, here is a resource with good information on different frontline service providers.

It explains what services are provided, hours of operation, contact information, etc. These places provide everything from simple shelter from the cold or a safe place to sleep, to helps with identification, doing taxes and finding housing.

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A guest (Muslim or non Muslim) enjoys a special place in Islam.

In Islam all actions performed daily can be raised to the status of worship simply by doing them to seek the pleasure of God. Having a guest is an opportunity to earn God’s pleasure by showing moral excellence in how we treat our guests. Before all else, believers must offer respect, love, peace, and cordiality to each guest. A welcome merely based on food offered, without showing any love, respect, or peace, would not be pleasing.

Prophet Muhammad treated his guests with utmost respect and generosity. He anticipated their needs offered them the most comfortable room, the choicest food, took interest in their conversation and gave them his full attention. In Islam hospitality is a right rather than a gift, and the duty to supply it is a duty to God.

There are several examples in the Quran about hospitality. One is about a Prophet’s companion, Abu Talha who welcomed a hungry traveler into his home even though they had very little to eat. He asked his wife to bring whatever they had and gave it to the guest. While the guest ate his meal, they pretended to eat in the dim candlelight. The following day Prophet Muhammad gave them the great news that God had revealed a verse about them and their generosity.

Prophet Mohammed also gave the example of Prophet Abraham, how he treated his guests, which displays an important feature of hospitality. The Qur’an portrays this incident in the following manner:

“Has the story reached you of the honored guests of Abraham? Behold, they entered his presence and said: “Peace!” He said: “Peace!” (and thought: “They seem unusual people.”) Then he turned quickly to his household, brought out a roasted fattened calf, and placed it before them. He said: “Will you not eat?” [Surat adh-Dhariyat: 24-27]

The above paragraph from the Quran is an example of how Prophet Abraham, entertained his visitors. He reciprocated their greeting, despite the fact that they were strangers to him. Furthermore, he quickly and discretely arranged for a meal without asking, if they would care for anything. The meal consisted of the best he could offer. Once the meal was ready, he placed it close to them and refrained from ordering them to eat; instead, subtly invited them to partake in the meal. There are similar stories in the bible on hospitality.

In Islam the guest too has responsibilities. One of them is to announce their visit in advance whenever possible and not to over stay or ask for anything which might cause hardship or be a burden on the host. Another is to hasten to taste the refreshments offered and to pray for and ask blessings upon the host.

In Islam the extension of hospitality and sharing of meals offer opportunities to embody remembrance of God. Sharing of food among Muslims is a very important feature of their social life.

Submitted by Sofia Yaqub, Edmonton Council of Muslim Communities

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Recognizing the need for affordable housing options, especially for large families, Westmount Presbyterian partnered to redevelop their land and church facility to make room for 16 units of affordable housing in a townhouse setting.

JOURNEY TO JUSTICE by BOB MCKEON

Twice over the past five years, 25 faith community leaders have come together through the Capital Region Housing Initiative to sign a public statement expressing their support for Edmonton’s 10 Year Plan to End Homelessness.

In this statement, the faith leaders committed their faith communities “to find new and creative ways . . . to address the issues of homelessness and affordable housing in our communities.” The churches and faith communities signing this statement have found different ways to put the words of this public commitment into action over the past five years.

However, one local Edmonton congregation of the Presbyterian Church in Canada, a signer of the Edmonton interfaith statement, has come up with an especially creative approach.

Westmount Presbyterian Church, in the North Glenora neighbourhood in Edmonton, found itself in a situation similar to that of many churches today. Their congregation was shrinking in size, their 60-year-old church building was in need of costly repairs, and their high energy bills were becoming an increasing financial burden.

The members of the congregation started a process to plan for the future. The congregation had a history of supporting refugee families and hoped that this support could be continued and even expanded in the future.

COMMUNITY PARTNERS

The congregation identified and recruited community partners: Peter Amerongen from Habitat Studios, a local innovative company pioneering the construction of zero-energy homes, Intermet Housing Society, an experienced non-profit housing provider, and the Mennonite Centre for Newcomers.

Together, they came up with a plan. The church would provide the land on a long-term lease at nominal cost for a 16-unit townhouse development providing affordable housing for large immigrant families.

The other organizational partners would bring expertise in innovative building design and construction, non-profit housing management and support services for families of newly-arrived immigrants.

This would be a sustainable “net zero” project, with geothermal and solar energy, so that year by year the renewable energy produced would be equal to the total energy consumed.

COMMUNITY ACTIVITIES

The present church would be demolished and replaced by a smaller energy-efficient church building, with space for a day care, and community space for tenant support and other community activities.

The project sponsors organized a consultation process with the local community league and residents and incorporated their concerns and suggestions into the design and development of this project with the result that the local community became supporters.

One local neighbourhood benefit of this project is that the school across the street threatened with closure because of low student enrollments will benefit from the influx of school-age children.

When the project sponsors went to City Hall in October for rezoning and project approval, city council approved the proposal unanimously. Construction is slated to start in the next few months.

Often when older church lands and buildings can no longer be maintained and supported by a congregation, they are sold with the financial proceeds used to support continuing church works.

Westmount Presbyterian shows another approach of being creative and faithful stewards of church physical and human resources, that of supporting both the long-term future of the Church membership and the good of those in the wider community in urgent need of affordable housing and support services.

SUFFERING CHRIST

Pope Francis, in Evangelii Gaudium (The Joy of the Gospel), says that as we draw near to those experiencing new forms of poverty and vulnerability, “we are called to recognize the suffering Christ” in our midst.

Thinking especially of the situations of migrants and refugees, he encourages all to be open and welcoming to newcomers in their communities: “How beautiful are those cities which overcome paralyzing mistrust, integrate those who are different and make this very integration a new factor of development” (n. 210). Might he have been thinking of a project like this?

LONG-TERM VISION

The Westmount Presbyterian Site Redevelopment is an impressive example of what is possible with imaginative long-term visioning, creative partnerships, innovative models of stewardship and a shared concern for social justice and the environment.

One hopes this project can stir the creativity and imagination of other congregations and churches facing difficult decisions about the future of church lands and buildings to “think outside the box.”